Walking beam conveyer



oct. 18, 1932.

R. S. COCHRAN WALKING BEAM CONVEYER FiledV Sept. 6, 1950 Oct. 18, 1932. R. s. COCHRAN WALKING BEAM CONVEYER Filed Sept. 6. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l uvvENTR: HALF' 5.00C'HHAN L4 ATToRm Patented Oct. 18, 1932- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RALF S. COCHRAN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, .ASSIGNOR T SURFACE COMBUSTION CORPORA- TION, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK WALKING BEAM ooNvEYEn Application led September `6 conveying apparatus of such form and construction that the longitudinal stroke'thereof may be as long as desired Withoutaffecting the mechanism which controls the vertical stroke and withal shall occupy but little space within the furnacev and shall not require any special openings through the furnace roof, side vwalls or Hoor for the accommodation of the conveying mechanism. Other objects will more fully appear hereinafter.

Generally speaking, the conveyer comprises in combinationwith a laterally discontinuous bed on which the work rests while not being conveyed, a Work-moving means comprising a longitudinally but not vertically reciprocating longitudinally extending support on .which is supported a series of links which in turn support a longitudinally extending work-engaging member, means being provided for moving the longitudinally extending support independently of said member to raise and lower the latter with respect to said bed, and means `being provided for moving said support and member in unison for moving said member longitudinally of-said bed.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the detailed description `taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification. Y

Referring to the drawings wherein the preferred form of the invention is shown:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal side elevation of the conveying apparatus arrangedwithin a heating furnace, the furnace being shown in vertical section and being more or less diagram- ,I matically illustrated;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and being on an enlarged scale as compared with Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 4 and illustrating the mechanism for causing relal tive movement between the work-moving memberand the fixed work-supporting bed; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on linea- 4 of Fig. 3;

A6, 1930. Serial No. 480,068.

Fig. 5 a fragmentary side elevation, parts being in section, illustrating certain details of the conveying mechanism and more particularly a modified form of link mounting;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but illusand Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the cycle of movement of the work-moving member with respect to the work-supporting bed.

For the purpose of illustrating the application of the presentinvention, there is shown a tunnel-type` furnace which intermediate its ends is provided with a depending bridge wall 10 of relatively great longitudinal trating a still further form of link mounting,

length to form a restricted passage or throat T through which work from the preliminary heating chamber P must pass to enter the final or soaking chamber S. Rising from the opposite ends of the bridge wall 10 are walls 13 and-16 from the upper ends of which extend the walls 11 and 12 forming the arch or roof of the individual chambers P and S respectively. Positioned in the walls 13 and 16 are burners 14 and 17 respectively firing towards tlie ingress and egress ends 15 and 18 ofl the furnace, the end opening 18 being controlled by a door 19 andthe opening'l by a door 20, both being operated in any suitable manner by mechanism not shown. Firing into the ingress end of the furnace below the opening 15 therein are one or more burners 21. The Hoor 23 of the furnace may be lowered as at 231L to form-an expansion chamber for the hot gases discharged by the burner 21. The furnace itself forms no part of the present invention.

Rising from the floor of the furnace are piers 25 and 26 which terminate at a common level and which are capped by metallic. caps or saddles 27 having upstanding side flanges 27Lv defining a channel for laterally confining individual longitudinally extending rails 28,

tically reciprocable with respect to the sad- \dles 27 'on which they are supported. The

fsaddles and rils are formed of heat-resisting alloy. Anti-friction meansare not necessary between the saddles and rails' since sliding friction between highly heated heat-resisting alloy parts produces a hard surface which is resistant to wear.

Mounted on the individual rails 28 are individual links 32 which in turn support a work-moving member or frame generally indicated at 29. rlhe frame comprises a series of cross beams 31 on which are secured in laterally spaced relation, a series of longitudinally extendingrails 30. According to one form of link mounting there may be provided on the opposite ends of the cross beams 31 a longitudinally projecting member 35 beneath which the upper ends `of the links 32 engage. rlhe links 32 are of wedge shape atl their opposite ends to provide a knife-edgetype bearing. To prevent lateral displacement of the links with respect to the rails 28 and members 35, there may be provided upper and lower side lugs 33 and 34 respectively. To prevent slippage of the links on the rails 28 the latter are provided with upstanding abutments 37 which may consist of parts welded to the rails. 1

As shown in Fig. 5 the upper end of the links 32 may engage beneath the rails 30 which the cross beams 31 support instead of engaging beneath an extension secured to the cross beam. ln such event the under side of the rail vwould be provided with a depending abutment 371 to prevent slippage of the link. As shown in Fig. 6 the upper end of the links may engage beneath the upper flange 311 of the cross beams 31 where the latterA are of -form in cross section as is preferred. To provide proper clearance between the links and the cross beam the lower flange of the latter is provided with a cut-out as indicated at 31a.

From the foregoing description, it will be readily seen that relative longitudinal movement between the rails 28 and the frame or member 29, will cause the latter to be raised or lowered in parallelism with the rails 28. rlhe links 32 are all of the same effective length and the rails 28 and frame 29 are preferably confined to such relative longitudinal movement that the links will always extend obliquely with respect to the rails 28 in the direction of movement of work into the furnace. This is an important feature of the invention since the frame 29 is thereby kept under longitudinal tension with'the result that warping or twisting of the frame 4under heat is materially reduced or counteracted.

The frame 29 is movable through the plane Y of a laterally discontinuous bed generally indicated at 24 made up of a series of longitudinally extending rails 241 supported'on cross beams 39 the ends of which are anchored in or to the furnace side walls 40 in any approved manner. The rails241 instead of being directly mounted on the cross beams 39 are mounted on stools 24a interposed between the rails and cross beams in order to provide the proper clearance between the underside of sesame the bed 24 and the movable frame 29. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the various rails may if desired be provided with transverse apertures 38 to reduce the weight of the parts. llt will be noted that the various rails and cross beams are of commercially available form as to cross section and hence can be obtained at relatively low cost and require no machining to fit them for use. T he links 32 are cast members and need not be machined. 1t will therefore be appreciated that the conveying mechanism thus far described can be built at relatively low cost.

The means for actuating the rails 28 and frame 29 will next be described. 42 indicates parallel tracks extending longitudinally of the rails 28 in a plane therebelow. Mounted to run on the tracks 42 is a carriage generally indicated at 4 1. This carriage is of rectangular form made up of side beams 43 and end cross beams 44. Extending transversely through the carriage are shafts 45 on the ends of which are mounted wheels 46 for running on the tracks 42. Secured to the inner sides of the tracks are cylinders 47 for moving the carriage 41, the piston rod 48 of each cylinder being appropriately connected to the carriage as indicated ,at 49.

Mounted for reciprocation on the carriage 41 is a carriage generally indicated at 50, this carriage being of rectangular form comprising side beams 51 and end cross beams 52. Extending transversely through the carriage 50 are shafts 53 on the ends of which are mounted wheels. 54 for running on tracks formed by the side beams 43 of the carriage 41. Secured to the inner side beams 43 of the carriage 41 are cylinders 55 for moving the carriage 50 independently of the carriage 41, the piston rod 56 of each cylinder being appropriately connected to the carriage 41 as indicated at 57.

The outer ends of the rails 28 are mounted on and ixedly secured to the carriage 50 and hence longitudinal. movement of the latter will cause corresponding movement of said rails. The frame 29 isflexibly secured to the carriage 41 in a manner to permit relative vertical but not longitudinal movement with respect thereto. To this end there is affixed to the carriage a pairof pedestals 58 each of which is connected to the frame 29 by longi- Atudinally disposed links 59 securedl to the frame in any appropriate manner as indicated at 60. To provide support for the overhanging portion of the frame 29 there may be provided links 61 coupled at their lower ends to the carriage 50 in any appropriate manner and at their upper ends to the frame 29. These links 61 are of the same effective length as the previously described links 32. To provide support for the overhanging end of the i bed 24 there may be provided a stand 62 supported at its lower end on the tracks 42 as shown in Fig. 3.

From the foregoing description it will be readily appreciated that the carriage 50 may the carriage 50 is stationary as the carriage A 41. The cycle of movement of the frame 29 with respect to the bed 24 is illustrated in Fig. 7 from which it will be seen that such movement describes a rectangular path.

.Any suitable means may be provided for controlling the How of motive fluidto the cylinders 47 and 55 in proper sequence to A effect the above described movements and therefore have not been illustrated.

While the constructional features of the invention have been described with considerable detail, yet it Vwill be apparent that considerable modifications in constructional fea tures may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the .appended claims and consequently I desire the construction to be taken as morel or less indicative of broad features involved.

The present invention hasspecial utility in connection with furnaces for vheating relatively long andviiat work generally such asv sheets, sheet bars and the like.

What is claimed is:

mentioned carriage, means for reciprocating `the second carriage toward and from said chamber, a longitudinally extending member supported within said chamber and coupled at one end to the second carriage for recipro- Ication therewith, a second longitudinally eX- tending member disposed within said chamber and secured at one end to the first-mentioned carriage, and rocker links between said members for maintaining them in parallelism. l

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

s RALF S. COCHRAN.-

1. In-apparatus for conveying work in a i series of steps or hops longitudinally of a work-su porting bed, the combination with such be of a longitudinally but not vertically reciprocable longitudinally-extending support beneath said bed, a work moving member adapted to be moved both vertically and longitudinally with respect to said bed, a series of links supported on said support and in turn forming a support for said member, a longitudinally reciprocable carriage for moving said member longitudinally, another carriage supported on said carriage for moving said sup-port independently of said member, said member being flexibly connected to the rst mentioned carriage in a manner to permit vertical but not longitudinal movement with respect thereto, and said support being fixedly connected to the second-men tioned carriage.

2. In apparatus for conveying work in a series of steps or hops along a longitudinally extending bed within a furnace chamber, the combination of a carriage adjacent the outer end of said chamber, means for reciprocating'sa'id carriage toward and from said chamber, a'second carriage mounted on the first- 

